The present invention pertains generally to prophylactic dental devices.
The occurrence of pyorrhea appears to be increasing amongst the populace of the United States and other highly developed countries. A suspected cause of the increase in pyorrhea is the reduction of meat in the diet to avoid cholesterol in the blood. While the reduction of the amount of meat consumed by the public may have beneficial results in this regard, the teeth become more susceptible to pyorrhea by reason of the absence of loads imparted to the teeth during the chewing of meat. Not unusual is the loss of teeth by middle aged persons due to pyorrhea which could be avoided, to a large extent, by exercising of the teeth in a manner simulating chewing.
In the prior art are various devices generally intended to enable exercising of the teeth by subjecting same to loads or forces resulting from a biting action or horizontally directed loads applied from an external, mechanical source. U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,817 discloses a device of monolithic pliant construction which permits exercising of the teeth by a biting action. The device in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,586,499 and 1,953,088 permit exercising of the teeth by the application of horizontally directed forces to a resilient mouthpiece.